On Stewardship :)

We had the privilege to attend the recollection led by Bishop Ambo David to the members of the CFC Board of Elders and the International Council tonight. Thank God for the gift of technology we were able to watch it live via UStream. :D

Bishop Ambo talked about stewardship as discussed in the pastoral letter (Stewardship: A Disciple's Response) on the topic released by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

According to the letter, A Christian steward is one who receives God’s gifts gratefully, cherishes and tends them in a responsible and accountable manner, shares them in justice and love with others and returns them with increase to the Lord.

From that statement, we derive the four characteristics of a Christian steward, namely:

1. Receives God's gifts gratefully.

"For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." (Matthew 13:12)

The key to having more is gratefulness. As what I have learned from a Tito during my visit to Our Lady of Banneux, we just need to count our blessings, think of the things we have, and we would realize how rich we are. But if we focus on what we don't have, then we'll end up being the most miserable, poorest person in the world.

Bishop Ambo added this beautiful insight: truth is, those who "don't have" actually do have, but they just don't think that it is enough. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

It has been proven that the real secret to happiness is gratefulness. Each of us is given time, talent, and treasure. And God being the just God that He is, left no one ungifted. The difference lies only in how we receive those gifts. :)

2. Cultivates them responsibly.

We don't end with just receiving the gifts. We need to nurture them, cultivate them that they may develop and bear much fruit. God desires our abundance. In John 10:10, Jesus said, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." The only way we can have abundance is to cultivate the gifts that we have received from the Lord, through His grace. The keyword is responsibly. As what Fr. Freddie shared last Sunday, "Do the right thing for the right reason and for the right purpose." :)

3. Shares them in loving justice with others.

Because we don't own the gifts, we are merely stewards, we are to share them with others. After all, the second greatest commandment is to love one's neighbor as himself. One can give without loving, but one cannot love without giving. Thus, we are telling the Lord we love Him each time we love, share, and treat with justice the people whom He also loves. Isn't it the measure by which we would be judged someday? :) And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:40)

4. Returns them with increase to the Lord.

God can never be outdone in generosity. And if we believe that the more we give, the more we receive (which has been proven time and again), then the same principle applies to our giving back to God. In the Parable of the Talents, the servants who returned with increase to the master were rewarded more than what they have given. And to each of them, the master said, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much." (Matthew 25:21, 23). Give to God what belongs to Him. Never be afraid to give more. :)

This Advent, as we await the coming of our Lord and King, let us be faithful stewards - grateful for everything, takes responsibility over the things entrusted to us, generously shares what we have, and not hesitant to give more back to the God who loved us first and who constantly shower us with Divine graces. ♥

Photo Credit: Roman Catholic Diocese of Lubbock

Comments

Understanding Lupang Hinirang

Every Filipino knows Lupang Hinirang (though some know it better as " Bayang Magiliw "). How can you not know it when it is the national anthem of the Philippines? But do we really mean the lyrics that we sing? Do we understand it in the first place? Photo Credit: http://diazi.ism-online.org This video has gone viral weeks ago. This afternoon, I shared it to my teammates, and one commented, "Yun pala yun . Ngayon ko lang naintindihan." He immediately downloaded it and converted to MP3. So for those who have not seen it, once again, here is Joey Ayala's version of Lupang Hinirang. And I agree, you would never want to sing it in another way. (But that's just me. :D) This rendition is simply beautiful. Truly Filipino. :) Of course that doesn't mean we need to revise our national anthem but maybe we can consider about correcting the way we sing it (read: proper pronunciation). Read more about the Philippine National Anthem here .

Jesus Week 2015: A Time To HEAL ♥

I had the best, most meaningful HOLY WEEK ever, so far (the best is yet to come!). :) Thanks to Joy who shared the Jesus Week poster on Facebook. It was God's personal invitation, and I couldn't thank Him enough for the grace that He also gave me to respond. Everything is grace. It was not just my personal decision to join. It was God's grace that allowed me to. So how did it go? Well, as what I have told my friends, it was amazingly beautiful! The experience was priceless! On Holy Monday, I posted Fr. Jerry Orbos' acronym for HOLY WEEK . I experienced all of that and more! :) I won't be able to share everything as there is just a lot of personal, intimate encounters with the Lord. But if I were to summarize, it was a time for me to HEAL. :) H alt . Indeed, I was able to stop and just rest in the Lord. Before leaving Manila, I have already told myself that this retreat will be all about Jesus ( Jesus Week nga e :D ). No emails, no texts, no calls. I

Thank You, Lord! :)

It has been a long and stressful day (the past three days have been lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng and stressssssssssssssssssssssssssssssful), but You are just so amazing, Lord that I couldn't sleep without telling You how grateful I am. :) Thank You, Lord for the miracle that You did yesterday. Break even and more. :) Thank You, Lord for the laughter and stories shared during the post-mission meeting with Team Thailand. :) Team Thailand - Princesses from SFC Metro Manila :) Thank You, Lord for Lawrence. He is just the (almost) perfect man. He has his flaws, but they are acceptable; he makes mistakes, but they are all forgivable. There are a lot of men but there can never be anyone else. He's really the one. And You know it very well. :) ♥ Nemo. Love. ♥ Thank You, Lord for giving me strength and endurance each day. :) Thank You, Lord for the short but restful sleeps. :) Thank You, Lord for every waking moment and every opportunity that You give

The Holy Spirit*

*Cluster 4 Household Topic Reflections from John 15:26-16:4 True friendship is strengthened in adversity. Jesus offers His disciples the best and truest of friends. Who is this promised friend? Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our Counselor and Advocate (also translated Paraclete or Helper). Counselor is a legal term for the one who will defend someone against an adversary and who guides that person during the ordeal of trial. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate and Helper who brings us safely through the challenges and adversities we must face in this life. As Jesus approaches the hour that He was to be glorified - through His death on the cross and His resurrection - He revealed more fully to His disciples the person and the role of the Holy Spirit. What does Jesus tell us about the Holy Spirit? First, the Holy Spirit is inseparably one with the Father and the Son. It is the Holy Spirit who gives life - the very life of God - and who kindles faith in hearts receptive

Interesting Facts Courtesy of Celebrity Bluff :)

I was writing a different post, but Celebrity Bluff is just so fun and informative, I had to stop from blogging to list down the fun facts that I learn from each round. :) Thought it would be nice to share them here as well. For future reference. :D Q: In 2012, what kind of animal was named after Beyonce? A: Horse Fly Q: What rare job in China will pay you US$50,000 a year? A: Fart Smeller Q: What alcoholic drink literally means "water of life"? A: Whisky Q: In which part of the body can you find the tragus? A: Ear Q: According to Merriam-Webster, what is the female equivalent of dude? A: Dudine Q: What is longer in the male turtles than in the females? A: Nails And the final question is... Q: According to Box Office Mojo what are the top four (4) movies of 2013 according to global profit? A: (1) Iron Man 3, (2) Despicable Me 2, (3) Fast and the Furious 6 (4) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire That's all

These Little Wonders

Search This Blog